The epidemic spread throughout the town areas first as it was high residential area and therefore spread from building to building quicker than it did in the countryside. Alex writes that…

‘When the cholera reached Jersey on August 6 1832, there had been a heavy downpour of rain the previous day and Dr Hooper theorised that the movement of all the accumulated filth in the streams helped spread the disease.Hilgrove Lane was one of the first places to suffer outbreaks.’

The majority of my ancestors were town dwellers, so this is of interest to me. Although I have not been able to always find specific addresses for this time as it was before the first Census in 1841.

I scan through all my family trees for all the death dates during this year and only find a date match with my Davey family.

The Rabet’s didn’t arrive in Jersey from Brittany until the turn of the century in the early 1900’s.

The Lozuet’s were living in St. Ouen at this time so were relatively safe (I presume).

I find William Davey who had died on the 19th November 1832. I have written about him before:

William writes his Will & Testament four days before he dies in St. helier, leaving his wife Mary Defrance as executor and his children are his heirs: Thomas, Rachel, William, Isaac, Mary Ann and George. Unfortunately his Will does not state his address unlike his son Isaac’s Will & Testament 60 years later.

It says that he is ‘of sound and disposing mind.’ I don’t have a copy of this death certificate, so I can not confirm whether he was ill from cholera. He died at the age of 52.

According to Dr Hooper’s carefully kept statistics, 803 people were taken ill and 347 died over an eleven week and five day period. The deaths were so concentrated in the poorer parts of town, that the Rector of St Helier had to inaugurate a new Strangers’ Cemetery (below Westmount) on August 27 to cope with the extra burials. On October 27, the Board of Health reported the Island free of cholera and adjourned, the very day that the first case was reported in Guernsey.

My next step is to get hold of a copy of William’s death certificate from the Jersey Registry Office to confirm details of his death.

I may have had more ancestors that fell ill or died from the cholera in 1832, but I do not know many of their dates of death. This is especially the case with my female ancestors. If I do not know the surname of the man they married I cannot trace their whereabouts and therefore when they died or where.

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I have come across William’s surname spelt in a few different variations:

DAVY is recorded in his own marriage to Mary De France in 1804

DAVIS is recorded in his Will & Testament in 1832

DAVEY is recorded in the marriage certificate of his son Isaac to Ann Le Breton in 1850.

It is the latter spelling which stuck and is still used today with William’s descendants and myself.

Here is William’s timeline as far as I know so far:

1780 – William Davy is born about 1780 in West Coker, Somerset. The exact date is unknown. His father was John Davy, his mother is unknown.

1804 – William, aged 24 marries Mary De France, age 22 and born in Guernsey, daughter of Thomas De France, on 26th December, Boxing Day.

1813 – William’s daughter Rachel Mary is baptised in St. Helier on the 7 August. The family have now moved to Jersey from Guernsey. Was this for work? In the marriage certificate of his daughter Mary Ann to George Le Breton, William’s proffession is recorded as a CARTER. This is a job of low earnings.

1816 – Birth of son William George.

1819 – Birth of daughter – Mary ann

1821 – Birth of son Isaac William on the 24th July. Isaac is my 3x great grandfather.

1832 – A cholera epidemic swept through St. Helier and some of the outlyinf parts of the island. Special centres were established to cope with the level of illness.

1832 – On the 15th November William, aged 52, writes his Will & Testament – “my desire is to be buried at the discretion of Mary De France, my dear wife.”

mark X of William Davis

1832 – On the 19th November, only 4 days after writing his Will & Testament, Willaim dies. UPDATE: He was buried Green Street Cemetery.

Cemetery plot 230 – Green Street Graveyard, Jersey

Although I do not have firm evidence of where William lived, I can presume that it was in St. Helier where his children were born. It may be that William became one out of the 348 vicitms of cholera in Jersey.

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According to the research myself and my friend Kelly have been doing, our ancestor, my great, great, great, great grandmother, Mary DeFrance died on the 6th February 1858. One hundred and fifty four years ago today. For me, researching our female ancestors is really exciting, for they can be hard to trace. This is mainly because the females adopt their spouses surnames. They are therefore quite hard to find in the records if you do not know who they marrried. In this case Marie married William Davey. How they met is unknown, but from the pieces I have managed to unravel I have created my own story which may one day be proven to be true or incorrect.

Marie DeFrance was born in St. Peter Port, Guernsey about 1782. Her father may be Thomas DeFrance born circa 1765.

In 1789, the start of the French Revolution takes place. I wonder how this affects the islanders, as thousands of French aristocrats apparently flee to Jersey, expanding the size of St. Helier dramatically.

In 1804, Marie marries William Davis/Davey in Guernsey. William, I believe has sailed over from England (he was born in West Coker, Somerset). Maybe for work? I do know that at some time William’s occupation is that of a ‘Carter’. This is not a job that was seen as doing well in the world.

Unusually for those days, they do not have a child until 1811 (7 years after marriage), Thomas Davis/Davey. Maybe she had given birth to earlier babies but I have not found any record of them.

In 1813, Rachel Mary Davis/Davey is born in St. Helier. So we now know they have left Guernsey for Jersey, Channel Islands, UK. Only the baptism records have been found regarding Rachel, so I do not know what becomes of her.

In 1816, William George Davey is born in St. Helier, Jersey (notice the spelling Davis is no longer used).

In 1819, Mary Ann Davey is born. She goes on to marry a George Le Breton.

In 1821, my great great great grandfather is born, Isaac William Davey. His godparents are William Leto and Catherine De France (later she is Catherine Leto)

In 1832, their is a cholera epidemic which sweeps through the town and outskirts. Marie’s husband writes his Will & Testament at this time, as I am sure do many others. In the record Marie’s name is spelt Mary. This english way of spelling their names was sometimes purposely done to blend in with the locals.

the rest is unknown..

Then at 2am on Saturday 6th February 1858 Mary dies at her home at 14 Lempriere Street. Fanny Sampson was present. I do not know who Fanny Sampson is yet. She died of ‘vieillesse – old age’ at 76 years old, which suggests to me that she was a tough old girl!

Where she is buried is unknown at the moment, but it is on my ‘to find out’ list.

If you think you are connected to Marie DeFrance or know more about her life, I would love to hear from you!